Trailer Restoration

I traded my front end loader for a trailer last month, It was going to cost hundreds and hundreds to restore, part of the bucket had some rust through on the side, and it was taking up a lot of space. I only paid 200 for it, and so I traded it for a 6'4"x 10' trailer with a drive up ramp an nice sides. I sanded it all with an angle grinder, wire brush, and sandpaper, then I primed it with industrial oil based rust inhibitive metal primer. Then I painted it twice with gloss black oil-based Rustoleum. The floor was shot so I bought treated 2'x8's which are 7 1/2" wide on treated, a little less on regular lumber. I angled and pressed each piece into the front and rear channel and bucked them into place. The last three I used a 4x4 under the middle and bowed the end into the smaller end channel, so as not to cut the 10 foot pieces of lumber. The previous floor was bolted to the frame using self tapping metal screw (cheap, crude, and ineffective) I drilled all the holes out to 3/8" and bought 2 1/2" galvanized bolts with lock washers and flat washers. I need to buy one taillight and rewire it using the good insulated wire with harness cover and I'll be done. I did the prep and priming yesterday, painted it and installed the wood today, I had to use Naptha to get it to dry with this cooler weather, but it still brushed great and flowed out like it was sprayed, about 8 hours of labor, plus the wood and bolts, I already had the paint. I'll post the pictures of the new treated floor tomorrow, I didn't start until noon and it got dark on me.

Yeah, I'm a little camera shy, it's not my most recent pic, but I'll post it any way, 1975. This was taken on my 18th birthday. I always seemed to be attached to some field mission on my birthday, 6 years running, had some rough birthdays especially 1979-1980. Gotta love the Army, they tell you what kind of low life you are in boot camp, after that they start kissing your ass when they need you. They offered close to 7k for me to re-enlist, I said you gotta be around to spend it. I can't believe how many buddies are gone, everybody thought I wouldn't be around long, took to many chances. Hell I thought my time in the Army was rough, till I spent two years working in Brooklyn/Queens as a glorified babysitter to some big wig corporate cosmetic fat cat, house in the Hamptons, cheating wife, no good kids, bookies, ne'er-do well friends, and hangers on. It was a cross between "weekend at bernies" and "goodfellas", hell I loved it. I started seeing the guys 18 year old daughter, he found out and thought I should go out west, way out west, haha. Imagine that, me not son-in-law material. Heck he was afraid I'd spill my guts or blackmail him. I never met such a bunch of characters in my whole life, it's whole different world on the island.

I finished the wood floor, I drilled floor and put in 3/8" x 2 1/2" galvanized carriage bolts with lock washers, I bought new lights, wiring connectors and wire harness, I can't do it tomorrow, but I promise I'll install them Saturday. Also going to put a new jack on it. We don't have to tag our trailers, or even register or title them, okies wouldn't do it anyway, so you see a lot of crappy trailers. I bought a couple of garden carts, paid 15 for one and 20 for the other. I put new tires and wheels on both today, now they go into the prep and paint queue, did you notice the little latch I put on one of them to drop the dump, way cheaper than the factory part, and I thought it was an original touch. Mike

Thanks, I'm really stoked to have it and have it almost done, two things to do, put the trailer connection on the end of the wire and put the jack up in the tube. i got the lights on and the wire run, I used that black wire harness coil cover stuff, looks good